Creating Range Names: Name Box Option

In the Name Box, highlight the currently appearing range nameHINT: If the Name Box does not appear, from the View menu, select Formula Bar.

Type the desired range name

Press [return]
The range name is created.

Creating Range Names: Multiple Range Names

You may want to assign names to multiple ranges in your worksheet without having to follow a separate dialog box process for each range.

From the Insert menu, select Name » Define...
The Define Name dialog box appears.

In the Names in workbook text box, type the desired range name

In the Refers to text box, type the range of cellsOR
To select the cells,

Click COLLAPSE DIALOG

Select the cells to be included in the range HINT: To select non-contiguous cells, press the [] key while clicking the cells.

Click RESTORE DIALOG

Click ADD

Repeat steps 2-4 as necessary for additional ranges

Click OK
The range names are created.

Adjusting Range References

Adjusting range references allows you to modify the cell references, formulas, and constants included in the range.

From the Insert menu, select Name » Define...
The Define Name dialog box appears.

From the Names in workbook scroll box, select the range name whose cell reference, formula, or constant you want to change

In the Refers to text box, change the reference, formula, or constant

Click OK
The range reference(s) are adjusted.

Deleting Range Names

To delete a range name, use the following directions:

From the Insert menu, select Name » Define...
The Define Name dialog box appears.

From the Names in workbook scroll box, select the range name to be deleted

Click DELETE

To delete other range names, repeat steps 2-3 as necessary

Click OK
The range name(s) are deleted.

Using Range Names in Formulas/Functions

When writing functions, referring to a range name rather than using the cell references reduces the chance of errors.

Range names can be used almost anywhere that you would enter a range of cell references. Common uses of range names are in formulas, functions, and print ranges. When writing a function, simply use the range name instead of the cell references. A SUM formula is written as follows:EXAMPLE: =SUM(C3:C15)

With the range C3:C15 named Payroll, the function could also be written as follows:EXAMPLE: =SUM(Payroll)

Both functions will yield the same result. The second is often easier to write, understand, and troubleshoot.

If you cannot recall a range name when you are writing a function/formula, you can use one of the following methods to determine your names and to include them in the function/formula. For more information, refer to Creating Range Names.

Using Range Names: Additional Options

To move to a specific cell on a worksheet, you can use the Go To command and your range names. The Go To command is useful when moving between ranges. For more information, refer to Using the Go To Command.

Range names can also be used to help you define a printing area. For instructions on how to print ranges, refer to Printing a Range of Cells.